Ally McCoist reckons Aston Villa should rest Grealish and co against Liverpool

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Aston Villa take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup quarter-final tonight, and the hosts will be presented with a vastly different Reds side than what they faced only a few weeks ago at Anfield.

Liverpool’s senior stars are currently in Qatar gearing up for the Club World Cup, with Monterrey their semi-final opponents tomorrow night.

That means Neil Critchley is in charge for tonight’s clash, and it will be a team of youngsters pitching up at Villa Park.

That makes Villa big favourites to reach the semi-finals at Wembley, but talkSPORT presenter Ally McCoist believes Dean Smith should not be tempted to go full strength.

He said on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show: “If Villa were sitting further up the table in relative safety, I would without a doubt play a strong side to win the game.

“But financially everything would tell you Villa’s priority must be to remain in the Premier League and you’ve got to gear everything towards that.

“What if you played Jack Grealish against Liverpool, he gets injured against and then misses those vital games?

“I’m desperate for Villa to stay up, but it’s not guaranteed.

“I would leave Grealish out. If it means they’ve got a better chance of winning their upcoming league fixtures, I think they should.”

TBR’s view – Villa should go mostly full strength

Villa have a genuine shot at winning the Carabao Cup.

Supporters would be furious if Smith fielded a weakened side and Liverpool’s youngsters beat them.

Surely the Villans shouldn’t be looking to take too many chances here and just get the job done.

Perhaps Grealish and John McGinn should the only non-starters for the Midlands club, but they should definitely brought on if the Villans are struggling.